Whether or not the Marina [Abramović] effect is real, Ms. Duffy [a real estate broker] averred that the "market here is gangbusters. We've never had buildings on Warren Street for over a million before. Two years ago, they were maybe $400,000. Ten years ago, you couldn't give them away." As for the Warren Street rents, she added, last year's average was about $1,600 a month; now they are close to twice that, at about $2,800. Mr. Coleman is paying $2,300, a deal in New York City, but a jaw-dropper for the area.

The article touches some of the complicated facets of the upswing, including questions about gentrification and how the prosperity on Warren Street can be extended.

The first was bread, more formally a "bread bowl." It held a couple Parker House rolls, a few slices of sourdough, and a schmear of the house spread, made with butter, yogurt, and ash, one of those slick concoctions that doesn't taste as good as plain butter but guarantee an elevated price. In this case, the bread bowl was $8, quite a climb from what bread in fancy places used to cost, which was nothing. The slightly grainy schmear wasn't nearly enough, so we asked for extra, and that was another $2, please. Our bread had climbed into double figures.

$10 bread? The bread bowl was the beginning of a string of items Richman found to be "random" and of "little coherence" and to include "considerable curing." He concludes: "Fish & Game isn't close to being the great restaurant it seems to think it is." (The restaurant got a much better review from the TU last fall.)

Comments

I wrote a cover story for New York magazine in 1983 called "Hail Columbia," that snapped a shot of Hudson and Columbia County. Back then the antique dealers were transforming Warren Street. Many of them are gone now because people don't buy antiques much anymore. Restauranting was a little thin and you could fire a canon ball down Warren Street and few would notice. Now it is difficult to get a parking spot. I love the architecture of Hudson and I hope all the businesses do well. Hail, Columbia!

I wrote a feature about Hudson for the same publication, New York Magazine, in 1998. The magazine did yet another update in 2010.

The Times likewise has revisited the “growing” scene with a similar frequency—I remember a big feature on Hudson by Dinitia Smith in 1997.

As for Richman's hit piece, an irony is that this is the second GQ piece on Fish & Game; the first one was over-the-top excited about it. Richman is known for courting controversy and garnering attention by stirring the pot. I’ve had three excellent dinners there (and I’m a vegetarian). Seemed he was more miffed at having trouble getting a reservation than being objective.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

name:

email address: (won't be displayed)

web site:

comment:

The Scoop

Ever wish you had a smart, savvy friend with the inside line on what's happening around the Capital Region? You know, the kind of stuff that makes your life just a little bit better? Yeah, we do, too. That's why we created All Over Albany. Find out more.

Community support follow slurs People in Wynantskill have been rallying support for a couple whose house was vandalized with anti-gay slurs -- and a local... (more)

Recent Comments

The state of our roads makes it too dangerous for me to want to use my bike to go to work. It's scary enough to walk/jog around town and have people fly through stop signs/lights when I'm using intersections... and on a bike it's that much worse if you attempt to bike legally in the street. This would be a great start to making our community more safe in general.
We have to start somewhere.